


Sound of War, Sounds of Peace

by MidnightWolf697



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-07
Updated: 2015-02-07
Packaged: 2018-03-10 23:23:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3307094
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MidnightWolf697/pseuds/MidnightWolf697
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Steve could still hear the sounds of war.  Sounds that he could never forget, no matter how much he tried.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Sound of War, Sounds of Peace

Steve could still hear the sounds of war. The explosions of bombs and guns, the screams of his comrades as they fell at the hands of the enemy. They were sounds that haunted him through the day and kept him up at night - sounds that accompanied the horrific sights that had been forever burned into his mind. Sounds he could never forget, no matter how much he tried.  
  
At first Natasha thought it best to pretend - to act as if she hadn't seen Steve flinch at nothing on more than one occasion. All of the Avengers had things in their past they didn't wish to discuss, so what right did she have to pry? But prying was exactly the type of thing she had been trained to do. That and killing, though she never planned on having to do the latter. Of course, she knew her curiosity would get the better of her eventually.  
  
As they grow closer she begins to contemplate confronting him about it. She hesitates - she doesn't know what kinds of things he's seen or how he'll react - but she won't find out unless she asks.  
  
She makes up her mind one night after Steve wakes up in a cold sweat. He's had another nightmare, this one of his close friend. The images of Bucky falling to his death replay in his head over and over every time he closes his eyes, and the man's screams echo in his ears. Natasha gives him all the time he needs to try and calm down.  
  
"Steve, what's wrong?" She asks when he wraps his arms around her, pulling her close. She smells like lavender, something that Steve had found soothing, but unexpected at first. He thought she would smell more like gunpowder, not some delicate flower.  
  
He takes his time to answer, trying to straighten out his thoughts from their jumbled mess. His eyes burned from years of unshed tears. "They won't stop."  
  
"What won't stop?" Natasha asks, wrapping an arm around his shoulder.  
  
"The sounds, the explosions…their voices, _his_ voice. God, Nat I can't stop hearing them." Steve's voice cracks at the end and he finds himself pulling her closer, hugging her tighter. He finds himself thinking that he doesn't know what he'll do if he ever loses her too.  
  
Natasha knows by his actions how he feels. He's voiced his concern for her many times and she always reassures him - _promises him_ \- that she'll do everything in her power to not let that happen.  
  
She knows that she can't understand everything; Steve has seen plenty of things that she hasn't. Yes, Natasha had seen death plenty of times when she worked with the KGB - she'd even lost a couple partners - but she'd never experienced it on the massive scale that came from war.  
  
"It's alright," She says. She can feel his tears dripping onto her skin and she peppers his face with light kisses while her hand runs through Steve's hair to push back the blond locks. "Everything that your hearing, they're memories; remnants from the past that you can't change. But you're here now, and I'm right here with you."  
  
Steve nods, taking in Natasha's words. She's right; he's not in Europe, or Germany, but here. A place where he's safe - _where their both safe._  
  
His grip on her loosens and she pulls back just enough to look at him. Natasha moves to wipe the tears from Steve's face before leaning forward once more to kiss him. "You know I'll always be here when you need me." She says when they part, a small smile gracing her face.  
  
The two agents soon laid back down, burying themselves under the warm blankets. Neither wanted to be the first one to fall asleep, so they simply looked at each other, Natasha's deep green eyes locking with Steve's bright blue ones.  
  
"Go to sleep, Steve," Natasha finally said. "The sounds aren't going to come back. I promise."  
  
"You don't know that."  
  
"Just _trust me_."  
  
Sighing, the blond reluctantly closed his eyes, and he felt Natasha's hand run through his hair once more. It was quiet, but the silence didn't last long and was soon replaced by a soft, soothing voice. Steve couldn't make out all of the words, but he knew the language. Natasha was singing to him in Russian. Steve loved the language, and loved when Natasha spoke it when they were alone. He'd even been able to pick up a few simple phrases here and there.  
  
The tranquil sound of Natasha's voice was a nice change compared to what Steve had grown accustomed to. For once he was able to fall asleep not to sounds of war, but to sounds of peace.


End file.
